POLL: Republicans Shouldn’t Surrender on Abortion

Republicans have spent much of the post-Dobbs era treating abortion as an issue best avoided. But a new memo from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA) suggests that may be a mistake. When messaged correctly, protecting the unborn can still be a winning issue for the GOP – and the party may need it this November.

As first reported by The Daily Wire, SBA tested the effectiveness of three separate abortion messages in the Iowa Senate and gubernatorial races: the “attack” message, the “soft positive” message,” and the “hard positive” message. The results shattered the conventional wisdom that Republicans shouldn’t go on offense in the public square to protect unborn life.

SBA found that “the ‘attack’ message — highlighting Democrat candidates’ support for late-term elective abortions — was the most effective, shifting the Republican vote margin by 3.3 points for governor and 4.4 points for Senate.”

This finding strongly suggests that Republicans should not run away from defending the unborn, particularly in red and purple states. Instead of allowing Democrats to attack them over “a woman’s right to choose,” Republicans should force Democrats to answer a simple question: “Do you support elective abortion late in pregnancy, when the child is healthy and can survive outside the womb?”

It is true that Republicans have been dealt some stinging electoral blows since Dobbs. But just because most Americans may not support a total ban on abortion does not mean that most Americans support abortion-on-demand with no restrictions. Elected Democrats overwhelmingly support the unpopular position of abortion for any reason at any stage of pregnancy, and Republicans with the courage to call that out could be rewarded at the ballot box.

SBA’s memo notably arrives just weeks after Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed a law removing all restrictions on abortion. Under the old law, a doctor had to certify that an abortion after 24 weeks was necessary because of a grave fetal diagnosis or a threat to the mother’s life. The new law leaves the decision entirely to a physician’s “professional judgment.”

SBA points to Massachusetts as the clearest example of the position Republicans should force their opponents to defend. “Elective abortion through all trimesters is the mainstream position of Democratic elected officials and politicians,” SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote.

Massachusetts is also the model SBA says Democrats want to take nationwide through legislation like the Women’s Health Protection Act. This bill, which is still pending in Congress, would create federal protections for abortion while severely limiting states’ ability to protect unborn life. Its backers call it a response to post-Dobbs abortion bans. SBA calls it a national abortion-on-demand mandate. The bill has not passed, but it shows where the fight may very well be headed if Democrats regain power.

While firmly and publicly defending the unborn is first and foremost a moral imperative, it is also an electoral necessity for Republicans. Pro-life Americans are some of the most engaged and passionate voters in the country. SBA and its affiliated groups plan to spend $80 million to reach 10.5 million voters this cycle.

This is not a constituency Republicans can afford to take for granted. The GOP needs to give these voters a reason to turn out this November. Pro-life voters have not stopped caring about protecting the unborn since Dobbs. But they are unlikely to stay fired up for candidates who treat the pro-life movement as a subject to dodge at a press conference or on the debate stage.

Republicans must press Democrats to say whether they support abortion at seven, eight, or even nine months of pregnancy when both mother and child are healthy. They should whether Democrat candidates support the Massachusetts approach.

The SBA memo is hardly the only evidence that Republicans can win on abortion. A July McLaughlin & Associates survey found that 52 percent of likely voters say abortion should either be illegal or limited to rape, incest, or saving the mother’s life. Another 24 percent said it should be legal only up to a specified point in pregnancy. Just 18 percent backed abortion for any reason at any point.

Another 2023 survey from Gallup found that support for abortion fell sharply by trimester: 69 percent supported abortion in the first trimester, compared with 37 percent in the second trimester and 22 percent in the third trimester. A January 2026 Knights of Columbus/Marist poll also found 64 percent of people supported limiting abortion and 57 percent would limit abortion to the first three months at most.

While the Dobbs decision was undoubtedly a major victory for the pro-life movement, overturning Roe was only the beginning of a much larger and more consequential battle to protect the unborn. The political left had 50 years to create a culture of death and moral detachment from the ugly reality of abortion. Conservatives must now devote just as much attention to creating a culture of life.

Republicans do not need to turn every race into a referendum on abortion. But they should stop letting Democrats avoid accountability for their support for radical late-term abortion-on-demand, a policy most Americans simply do not support.